Minnesota Sports Forum

lipoli390 wrote:Monster - You've identified a significant risk associated with Vonleh. If he does really well it will be hard to keep him.

It's true but that's part of why we are getting him cheap this year.

One of the advantages of keeping Saric would have been that he would have had a relatively low cap hold (about the same as Tyus this year) if the Wolves wanted to keep him and make some other moves before resigning him to a nice chunk of money that would have been a positive. The Wolves don't have that much breathing room so it probably wouldn't really matter unless something really significant happened in terms of salary.

As for Vonleh being hard to keep...that's another reason to have financial flexibility. I think if the Wolves really want to keep him they will likely have enough ways to open up avenues to do so but it may also mean that's the only move they make that offseason other than the mid-level or maybe a trade. If Vonleh takes a step forward where we have to worry about paying him that's gonna be a positive. Even if he walks for nothing we would have gotten a valuable player for a year for peanuts and it makes the franchise look like they can make a young player better. That might attract the next Vonleh type.

I'm a big Saric fan but the more I learn about Vonleh the more I think he COULD be a better compliment to Towms than Saric. Vonleh needs to keep progressing but there were some flashes along with his physical profile with length athletic ability and some lower body strength. He even had some good defensive possessions on Giannis. He really does move well. I'm not getting my hopes up too high on him but I think he is the guy that encourages me as much as anything from this offseason other than the general approach Rosas has made. Oh and Naz Reid looks like a nice find.

https://youtu.be/eJTpP8F26JM

I think this video review of Culver is the most accurate assessment of him I've seen. The upshot of this review is that Culver is a relatively high-floor, low-ceiling prospect who will probably be a solid rotation player if he tightens his handle and shoots more consistently. It's consistent with my view that trading up for Culver wasn't the best move and will join the long list of Wolves' draft mistakes over the years. I've been watching and re-watching Culver highlights today, trying to get excited about him. But alas, the most of him I see, even highlights, the more I see mediocrity. His handle isn't particularly good, he's not super quick or super long and he has little shake or change of speed/direction in his drive. He not very good at getting to the hole against good defenders as we saw when Texas Tech played the better teams in the tournament. His long-range shooting is highly suspect and his free-throw shooting isn't impressive either - a 3 & D guy without the 3. He looks like a mid-range jump-shooter who is pretty good at a number of things but not elite at anything.

Among the better moves Rosas could have made on draft night, I'd rank the following:

1. Trading Covington rather than Saric to move up to #4 for Darius Garland
2. Stay at #11 and take Alexander-Walker, Romeo Langford or Tyler Herro.

I could be wrong and definitely hope I'm wrong. Culver does seem to have an elite vertical and a great worth ethic. He was also a very good rebounder and defender at his position in college.

Kawhi Leonard may have had similar type of attributes as Culver, and many people consider him the best player in the NBA currently. For one he is elite on both ends of the floor. Not saying Culver will become that, but it's possible if he works as hard as Kawhi does.

I think too many people in general don't focus on the defense enough (not focusing on you Lip, just in general). The Wolves are not winning anything until they become a good defensive team, with the recent past being horrible to atrocious.

If they ever think about contending they need to become a top 5 defense. I think Culver could become another key asset in that area. Hoping RoCo comes back 100% as well, the Wolves need him on the floor. Then just maybe Wiggins can become serviceable on D as well.

WolvesFan21 wrote:Kawhi Leonard may have had similar type of attributes as Culver, and many people consider him the best player in the NBA currently. For one he is elite on both ends of the floor. Not saying Culver will become that, but it's possible if he works as hard as Kawhi does.

I think too many people in general don't focus on the defense enough (not focusing on you Lip, just in general). The Wolves are not winning anything until they become a good defensive team, with the recent past being horrible to atrocious.

If they ever think about contending they need to become a top 5 defense. I think Culver could become another key asset in that area. Hoping RoCo comes back 100% as well, the Wolves need him on the floor. Then just maybe Wiggins can become serviceable on D as well.

WolvesFan - Good point about the defense. I do see Culver becoming a very good defender in the NBA. I agree with the analysis in the video I posted - viewing Culver as a high floor but low ceiling prospect. I can see him as a solid defensive-oriented rotation player who can also do some things on the offensive end. If he ever develops his 3-point shot then he could be a 3 & D guy who can also handle the ball a bit and score off the dribble. My main thing is that I think there were better options at #11 like Alexander-Walker and a much better option in Garland who we could have had if Rosas had been willing to give up RoCo. But if RoCo is healthy and Culver reaches his low but decent ceiling he'll be an asset. It will be interesting to see how he develops. I love that he has a great work ethic and high basketball IQ.

lipoli390 wrote:viewing Culver as a high floor but low ceiling prospect.

As one of our max players proves annually, a high ceiling is meaningless without the drive go reach it.

lipoli390 wrote: I love that he has a great work ethic and high basketball IQ.

Some players with a strong work ethic and IQ can reach past their ceiling. I'd put my money on that happening before I'd put it on that other guy reaching his!

TheSP wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:viewing Culver as a high floor but low ceiling prospect.

As one of our max players proves annually, a high ceiling is meaningless without the drive go reach it.

lipoli390 wrote: I love that he has a great work ethic and high basketball IQ.

Some players with a strong work ethic and IQ can reach past their ceiling. I'd put my money on that happening before I'd put it on that other guy reaching his!

Did Wig nail your wife or something?

I went back to look at the draft combine measurements of some players Culver has been compared to:

Culver: 8'4.5 overhead reach, 6'9.5 wingspan, 194 lbs

Butler: 8'5.5 overhead reach, 6'7.5 wingspan, 222 lbs
Paul George: 8'11 reach, 6'11 wingspan, 214 lbs
Kawhi Leonard: 8'10 reach, 7'3 wingspan, 225 lbs, massive hands

Culver isn't remotely comparable physically to Paul George or Kawhi Leonard. While Culver's length is comparable to Butler's, Jimmy was almost 30 pounds heavier than Culver coming out of college. In other words, while similar in length, Culver isn't nearly the imposing physical presence that Butler is. Alexander-Walker's overhead reach is 1.5 inches longer than Culver's while both have the same wingspan.

There seems to be this myth among some that Culver is really long and strong. In truth, he's not particularly long and although he might be strong, he's a slight 194 pounds.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

TheSP wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:viewing Culver as a high floor but low ceiling prospect.

As one of our max players proves annually, a high ceiling is meaningless without the drive go reach it.

lipoli390 wrote: I love that he has a great work ethic and high basketball IQ.

Some players with a strong work ethic and IQ can reach past their ceiling. I'd put my money on that happening before I'd put it on that other guy reaching his!

Did Wig nail your wife or something?

No, but his apathetic attitude and max contract are fuckng my team over.

TheSP wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

TheSP wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:viewing Culver as a high floor but low ceiling prospect.

As one of our max players proves annually, a high ceiling is meaningless without the drive go reach it.

lipoli390 wrote: I love that he has a great work ethic and high basketball IQ.

Some players with a strong work ethic and IQ can reach past their ceiling. I'd put my money on that happening before I'd put it on that other guy reaching his!

Did Wig nail your wife or something?

No, but his apathetic attitude and max contract are fuckng my team over.

I nominate that comment for Post of the Year.

TheSP wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

TheSP wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:viewing Culver as a high floor but low ceiling prospect.

As one of our max players proves annually, a high ceiling is meaningless without the drive go reach it.

lipoli390 wrote: I love that he has a great work ethic and high basketball IQ.

Some players with a strong work ethic and IQ can reach past their ceiling. I'd put my money on that happening before I'd put it on that other guy reaching his!

Did Wig nail your wife or something?

No, but his apathetic attitude and max contract are fuckng my team over.

It just seems like 90% of your posts say the same thing about the same player. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm pretty sure i understand how you feel about him by now.